Dispensing apparatus



Feb. 7, 1956 w. H. NEFF DISPENSING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 25, 1951 7 FIG. 2.

Jnventor WILLIAM H. NEFF M A %MW Feb. 7. 1956 w, NEFF 2,733,838

DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed July 25, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WILLIAM H. NEFF FIG. 5.

United States Patent was lliam H: Na a ake C t U fe slisatisa Ju y 5,19 1 aw. 24

Cl ms (01. 22km,

, mechanically'carrying out'all the operations normal to the planting of new lawns, in a properly integratedrnan tier which'is subject to precise "control and which thereforeffar more accurate and economical than the usual manualrn'ethodsof'lawn planting. "An object to provide such amachine which shall be capable'bf complete operation and control by a'single qpk tp U further object is to insure substantially uniform mechanical dissemination of seed and of chemical ferti lizer, especially, so as to attain proper relative propor- ,tions foroptirnurnlawn coverage and growth, and so as to eliminatedanger of chemical burning -of the'new grass, as well as waste of expensive seed and fertilizer: 'In accomplishing these objects, I utilize a dispers n anddistributing device forming the subject of my co' pending application for patent S; N. 149237, filed March 13 1950,- entitled Dispensing and Distributing Device for Finely Divided Materials," and now matured into S. Patent No. 2,643,798, granted June 30, 1953, together with an arrangement of hoppers and motivating means which effect the results sought.

The machine of the invention advantageously takes the form'of a self-propelled vehicle provided with suitable operational controls, such as steering mechanism, brakes; motor, transmission, and clutch. Nevertheless, the machine maybe constructed in the form of a'trailer arranged to'be hitched to a suitable power unit, such as afarm tractor.

An outstanding combinational feature of the invention is the provision of a front torea'r extending series} of hoppers for the materials to be applied during the "lawnplanting operation, intergeared distributing mechanisms gammy mounted longitudinally of the discharge openings of the respectivehoppers, and separate discharge chutes leading downwardly from the respective distrib-' uting mechanisms, whereby the respective materials are individually. distributed, an'dare deposited distributed.

The distributing mechanisms associated with vthe hoppers intended to receive grass seed and chemical fertilizer, respectively, are unique. in their combination of interacting elongate, rollers and substantially stationongatereaction members, both covered with a pile isu ll y and preferably a carpet-lilgematerial; 019 151 tha whfil a 91k? 0V6 w th. such. pile ,mtatjs g ns a s a ona y ea t on member covered with a similar material, a very uniform and sequentially as highly satisfactory dissemination ofeither grass seed or chemical'frtiliierls"achieved." "watersheds d featu es of the invention will be; come apparent fionr the following" detailed description of the particular'preferred embodiment illustratd' accompanying drawings?" l lathe drawings:

Fig. 1 represents an eleyation of thelef-t side of a selfpropelled' ma'chiiieemb'odying" me sverreatures of invention, the rn'achiiiebeing"shdwn 'in the act'of planting a Fig; '2, a fragmentary elevation of the right side of the machine, showing anve" gearing between -the" tr ""tio'ii roller and the several material distribiltin g" rollers} Fig. 3, a rear elevation of the mach J Fig. 4, a top planyiew' oi tlidm me, drawn to a reduced scale and'iliminating drive and? control mechanism;

'Fig. 5, a'long'itudinal vertical section, taken on the line 5-5: or Fig. 3 and drawn in a considerably "enlar ed ig. 6, line 6-;-6 of Figs.

Referring to'tlie drawings: The machine asa whole is illustrated "somewhat 'sche'rna ti'callydn Figs. 1, sierra. 4; It comprises, in theillus trated form, a chasis framework 10, advantageously made of's truc'tur al' steel members welded together, and a hopperstructure 11 supported by and extending through and somewhat'bel'o'w' such.

framework. At the forward and narrowed end 10a of the chassis framework, a steering column 12 extends upwardly in" convenient proximity to a seat13 surmounting"thei hopper structured 'A steering iavheelT 14. is fixed to the upper end of a shaft (not shown); which extends through'a'nd is joufnale'cl'within the column 12, and a gear 15,, fiitedi to th'lower erid of the shaft, meshes with 'a secltor'geai' 1,6 flied. to the top ofa forked 'nioiinting 17 for a froiit, compaction roller18;""'1"lie roller""1 8,thus,servsj to' steer the machine under the control of a driver, who" sits on the seat. l3 and manipulates the steringwheel 14."

"An engine '12 of' anyconventiorialtype, preferably gasoline powered, is mounted on the chassis 10 within an external 'alcoye 30 provided by suitably cohfiguratifig, the hopper structure 1 1,- seeEig. 4', and srvestddriiira rear tractor and compaction roller. 21 through reduction pulleys. and bclting22. and forward and reverse gears 23. A sproclget drive 24, Fig. 1, directly connectsthe output shaft of, the gearbox 23 with"the'"rear roller 21, and. a clutch 25 is, intcrnosedin the drive shaft. 26, Fig. 3, between the engine and reduction gearingl22."

"Brake mechanism 27, Fig. 1', is operably arranged with respect K? a brake drum 28 Secured to the rear roller 21; and is manually controlled by the driver by means of @311 a ,iOQt ped l 29 O a hand lever. 30' acting through ab aks od 31 l Theclut h 251s manually. contr ll by ve Y me ns. 9 a too p dal (not .showmpositi n'ed next to the praise pqdfll a d a ting through e ngate connect-T ns rod an l nk mep auism 3 Fig 1 and 3, of. con ventionaltype. r A: sear shif ever a t ng through link mechanism 35, enables the iver to shift the gears .23 from forward F9 's rse and yic e ys sa, at will: a

The h pe structu e l is divided i o. wo tor-wardly di posed an relatively smal c mparunjems as and Fig. 5 tor dry chemical fertilizer and grass seed, respec tively, and into a relatively largerearward compartment 37. 9; compost-1 .The two forward compartniiits' s-s'i'ind apneni rward -ot are. machinqifor mam-mamas of theresnective materials, and are-closed in'common' a hinged covet 38, while ,the rearward compartment 37 reats! 71 a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the top open, such opening being relatively broad in area so that compost may be loaded expeditiously. It should be noted that the forward wall of the compost compartment- 37 advantageously overhangs the fertilizer and seed compartments 35 and 36, so as to afford protection from the weather additional to that provided by the cover 38.

7 Each of the hoppers 35, 36, and 37 has-a lower portion which converges to define an elongate discharge opening extending transversely of the machine. In the illustrated instance, the hoppers 35 and 36 have bottom walls 39 and 40, respectively, Fig. 5, which have respective forward lips of concavely arcuate formation, facing interiorly of the hopper, directly defining discharge openings 41 and 42, respectively. The hopper 37 has the lower jects which might be inadvertently mixed with the material being distributed. In this connection, it is to be noted that the soft and flexible pile covering, itself, affords a certain amount of leeway for the discharge of oversize foreign objects, without interfering with controlled discharge of fertilizer or seed. Furthermore such pile material satisfactorily accommodates differences in sizes between individual seeds, particularly as between the grass margin of its rear wall bent forwardly, as at 37a, and

the lower edge thereof similarly formed to directly define discharge opening 43.

The discharge openings 41 and 42 are further defined by stationary reaction portions of respective distributor mechanisms described hereinafter.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, these reaction portions each comprise an elongate reaction plate 44 pivoted at 45 to the hopper, so as to be swingable toward and away from the interior of the hopper. Such reaction plate 44 is normally urged toward the interior of the hopper by means of a series of springs 46 encircling respective bolts 46-.1 and bearing against an elongate bracket member 47 secured to the adjacent hopper wall.

The remainder of each distributor mechanism comprises a distributing cylinder 48 rotatably mounted longitudinally of and over the discharge opening-either 41 or 42 as the case may be-on oppositely extending stub shafts 48a, Figs. 1 and 2, which are journaled in the'walls of the hopper.

.Forthe purpose of effecting a uniform and controlled distribution of grass seed or dry chemical fertilizer, the operating surfaces of both the cylinder 48 and the reaction plate 44 are covered with a pile material, indicated 49 and 50, respectively. As shown, such material is a pile fabric material of the nature of carpeting, specifically a twist-weave wool broadloom, though other pile materials may be employed, as will appear hereinafter.

Since the reaction plate 44 is normally urged inwardly by the springs 46, the soft and flexible pile covering 50 thereof is forceably pressed into close engagement with the pile covering 49 of the distributing cylinder. Accordingly, rotation of the distributing cylinder 48 with respect to the substantially stationary reaction plate 44- in a counter-clockwise direction as indicated by the appended arrows in Fig. 5-effects a brushing action of the material to be distributed, along the individual piles of the stationary covering 50, which results in uniform and controlled distribution of either the finely divided dry chemical fertilizer or of the small and elongate grass seeds, as well as the intermixed small and round clover seeds, from the hopper.

In the form illustrated, the curvature of the lower lips of the hopper bottoms 39 and 40 is concentric with the distributing cylinders, and the cylinders are positioned so that the pile coverings thereof wipe closely against the inner surfaces of the lips, thereby providing maximum closure areas for the non-discharging sides of the respective discharge openings. i

The discharge opening 43 of the compost hopper 37 is further defined .by a resiliently urged reaction plate 51 similar to the plates 44 and similarly mounted. Such reaction plate 51 is, however, not provided with a pile covering, but with a relatively hard and smooth covering 52 for coacfion with a fluted distributing cylinder 53 whose surface is preferably hard andjsmooth.

The resilient mountings for the reaction plates of all three distributor mechanisms not only. insure close sur face engagement with the respective distributing cylinders atall times, but permit passage of oversize foreign oband the clover seeds.

The several distributing cylinders, 48 and 53, are intergeared in appropriate drive relationships with each other and with the rear traction roller 21, see Fig. 2. Thus, a sprocket wheel 54 of suitable diameter, is fixed to the axle 55 of the traction-compaction roller 21, and is connected by a sprocket chain 56 with a sprocket wheel 57 of suitable relative diameter, fixed to a protruding stub shaft 53-1 of the compost distributing cylinder 53. A second sprocket wheel 58, fixed to the same stub shaft 53-1, is connected by a sprocket chain 59 with a sprocket wheel 60, fixed to a protruding stub shaft 48a of that distributing cylinder 48 which is associated with the seedcontaining hopper 36, and a second sprocket wheel 61, fixed to said stub shaft 48a, is connected by a sprocket chain 62 with a sprocket wheel 63 fixed to a protruding stub shaft 48a of that distributing cylinder 48 which is associated with the fertilizer-containing hopper 35.

The relative diameters of the several sprocket wheels 54, 57, 58, 60, 61, and 63 determine the relative speeds at which the several distributing cylinders rotate with respect to the speed of rotation of traction-compaction roller 21. Quantitative distribution of the respective materials is therefore governed, as it should be, in accordance with the speed of travel of the machine across the area being planted. Different relative cylinder speeds for any given speed of travel of the machine may be obtained by replacing selected ones of the several sprocket wheels with others of different diameters.

For the purpose of insuring proper feed of the compost in hopper 37 to the distributing mechanism thereof, a rotatable agitator 64, Fig. 5, is provided, and is continuously operated during travel of the machine by means of a sprocket wheel and chain drive indicated generally 65 in Fig. 1. Such drive 65 takes its power from the fluted, compost-distributing cylinder 53.

In order to insure proper deposition of the respective materials being distributed, discharge chutes 66, 67, and 68 are defined below and in material-receiving communication with the discharge openings 41, 42 and 43, respectively, see Fig. 1. These chutes are advantageously provided by deflection plates or flaps 69, which depend from respective attachment to the hopper structure along preferably the entire lengths of the respective discharge openings 41, 42, and 43. The ultimate discharge openings for deposition of the respective materials on the ground are therefore disposed in close succession immediately above the surface of the ground. Accordingly, the dry chemical fertilizer, the seed, and the compost are deposited sequentially in respective layers 70, 71, and 72, Figs. 1 and 2, as the machine travels. This aspect of the invention forms the subject matter of my copending, divisional application Serial No. 543,961, filed October 31, 1955, and entitled Lawn Planting Machine.

In the operation of the machine, the forward roller 18 prepares a smoothly compact bed of soil for the deposition of the respective materials, while the rear tractioncompaction roller 21 serves to smoothly compact the applied layers. No raking or other treatment of the soplanted lawn is necessary nor desirable.

I prefer to make the deflection plates or flaps 69 of stiffly flexible and resilient material, such as appropriate lengths of a heavy, industrial rubber, conveyor belting, so that they give and return to position if they hit any obstruction. Nevertheless, they may be platesofif; metal or other rigid material pivotally suspended in the desired positions.

While I have had excellent results using a wool, twistweave, broadloom carpeting material, having a pile approximately one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch in length, as the pile covering for both the cylinder and reaction plate of the fertilizer and seed distributor mechanisms, various other kinds of pile material may be employed with varying degrees of satisfaction in specific instances of use, so long as such material provides a soft and yielding mat of upstanding, closely set, flexible fingers. The machine will ordinarily include all three hoppers, as illustrated, but, in some instances, the compost may be spread independently. In such instances, only hoppers and distributor mechanism for fertilizer and seed need be provided. Furthermore, if desired at anytime, the drive mechanism may be so arranged that seed can be distributed from the forward hopper, and fertilizer from the hopper next in line.

It is contemplated that the machine of the invention will find its greatest usefulness as a motorized unit, as illustrated, or as a trailer for pulling by a tractor. Nevertheless, the principles thereof are also applicable, as is obvious, to manually pushed or pulled machines.

In all forms of the machine, it is highly advantageous to provide a manually controlled clutch in the drive mechanism connecting the traction roller with the distributor mechanism. This may be accomplished by the use of any suitable conventional clutch, for example that shown schematically at 74, Figs. 2 and 3, as interposed between the axle 55 of the rear compaction roller 21 and the main drive sprocket 54, the same being controlled by a lever 75, Fig. 1, convenient to the driver's seat.

Whereas this invention is here illustrated and described with respect to a particular preferred embodiment thereof it should be understood that various changes may be made therein and various other forms of the invention may be constructed on the basis of the teachings hereof, by those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the claims which follows.

I claim:

1. A lawn planter, comprising three supply hoppers juxtaposed from front to back of the planter and having respective elongate and transversely extending discharge openings; running gear mounting said hoppers for forward travel; single distributing cylinders extending longitudinally of the respective discharge openings to distribute materials from the respective hoppers onto the ground, the forward two cylinders being covered with pile material for the distribution of fertilizer and seed, respectively, and the rear cylinder being configurated for the distribution of compost; reaction plates extending longitudinally with and disposed against the respective cylinders for controlling discharge from the respective hoppers, the two forward reaction plates being covered with pile material; resilient means constantly urging the reaction plates against their respective cylinders; and drive means for rotating the said cylinders as the planter travels.

2. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein the discharge-opening-defining margin of one of the longitudinal walls of each supply hopper is concavely arcuate interiorly of the hopper, and the distributing cylinder is mounted substantially concentrically and in rotative contact therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 112,006 Aitchison Feb. 21, 1871 151,652 Conklin June 2, 1874 203,325 Davies May 7, 1878 249,957 Lee Nov. 22, 1881 533,252 Thomas Jan. 29, 1895 544,470 Thomas Aug. 13, 1895 865,575 Drew Sept. 10, 1907 1,282,139 Targosky Oct. 22, 1918 1,736,124 Meijer Nov. 19, 1929 1,894,058 Rice Jan. 10, 1933 1,903,874 Mills et a1. Apr. 18, 1933 2,643,798 Nefr' June 30, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 151,578 Germany June 4, 1904 858,989 France May 27, 1940 

